Jonathan Dixey appears in significant charities case brought by Russian billionaire

The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) has handed down its judgment in an appeal brought by Vladimir Potanin, a Russian businessman and former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Mr Potanin appealed against the Charity Commission’s decision to remove him from his position as an officer of the Potanin Foundation, a charity he had established and which he had endowed with around £1.1 billion.

The Charity Commission took regulatory action following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Mr Potanin and the effect of those sanctions on the proper functioning of the Charity.

The Tribunal considered the following issues:

1. Whether the appellant was an ‘officer’ of the Charity for the purposes of s.79(4) of the Charities Act 2011.
2. Whether there was misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the Charity within the meaning of s.76(1)(a) of the Act.
3. If so, whether the appellant:
   1. was responsible for that misconduct or mismanagement;
   2. knew of it and failed to take any reasonable step to oppose it; or
   3. contributed to or facilitated it, within the meaning of s.79(4)(a)–(c).
4. Whether the Charity Commission was entitled to be satisfied that it was necessary or desirable to act for the purpose of:
   1. protecting the property of the Charity; or
   2. securing a proper application of that property, within the meaning of s.76(1)(b).
5. Whether the decision to remove the appellant as an officer was proportionate in all the circumstances, having regard to the Commission’s statutory objectives and duties under the Act.
6. Whether the Commission’s decision was flawed by reason of any procedural unfairness or failure to take into account relevant considerations.

In a detailed judgment, the Tribunal upheld the Charity Commission’s decision. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Potanin owed a fiduciary obligation of single-minded loyalty. By failing to resign as Founder and member of the Charity both when designation was foreseeable and then afterwards, amounted to misconduct or mismanagement within the meaning of the Charities Act 2011.

At paragraph 100, the Tribunal found:

“In our judgment the appellant’s conduct satisfies section 76(1)(a). Prior to UK designation, when the risk was obvious and proximate, and the mechanism to address it was in his hands, he failed to act. After designation, when the consequences for dealings with the Charity’s property were live, he remained in office. The result was to place the Charity at substantial risk that it would not be able to apply its property to its charitable giving, either by growing it through investment or in grant-making, in circumstances where the administration of the Charity could proceed only through regulatory intervention, the imposition of protective orders, and the appointment of an Interim Manager operating under licence. That is conduct properly characterised as misconduct or mismanagement. The statutory threshold is met.”

In May 2025 Mr Potanin was ranked by Forbes as the 81st most wealthy person in the world with a net worth of $24.2 billion.

The Tribunal’s judgment can be found here: Vladimir Potanin v Charity Commission for England and Wales [2026] UKFTT (GRC).

Jonathan was instructed on behalf of the Charity Commission, led by Jamas Hodivala KC of Matrix Chambers.